There's been an interesting exchange of views and I'd like to take this opportunity to summarise and possibly caricature some of them, and at the same time make some comments. 1) "This is a technical list and 'political' views are out of place here." When I set up the list, there was no manifesto - all were welcome to join and talk about whatever interested them. However it was understood that the purpose of the list was connected with Linux and Education. Government policies on software procurement are quite clearly closely related to this purpose and in my view very valid subjects for discussion. 2) "Microsoft is totally and uniquely evil: anyone who says anything remotely favourable about Microsoft is equally evil and should be flamed, strung-up, shot, expelled from the list etc." This has never been my position. Personally I think Microsoft makes some good desktop software (e.g. Excel) and some appallingly bad operating systems. However, Microsoft's business practices have been and continue to be seriously worrying to anyone who values fairness and decency in business. Linux is uniquely threatening to Microsoft because it is hard to see how their traditional weapons ("embrace and extend", "buy out and incorporate") can be applied to fighting against it. It is because of this that people who value Linux have to be on their guard against some novel and disturbing developments such as attempts to use the law in the US against open source software as such. On the other hand, anyone who wants to make points about the superiority of open source software, the iniquity of Microsoft's business practices (and much else) would be well advised to read the Advocacy-Howto. Telling someone who has not had the information or the time to think things through to a logical conclusion that he is an idiot, in the pay of a particular company, or deliberately trying to create dissent is not the best way of winning him round to your point of view. 3) "People who don't agree with the majority opinions on this list should get lost - why did they join in the first place if they think x, y or z?" The list is failing in its purpose if it is not a) inclusive of all who want to join, lurk, contribute or argue, whatever their opinions. b) aiming through dialogue and discussion to educate and inform all who participate in it. 4) Linux will soon be the only operating system that matters. This is true and all the rest is ephemeral on any reasonable historical time scale. Linux began in August 1991. In ten years it has come from nowhere to the point where it is the major threat to Microsoft and at the same time moving into the space previously occupied by the commercial forms of Unix. Not to mention the desktop, handhelds, embedded systems and more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please continue to 'have a lot of fun ...' Best wishes to all Roger PS: Please accept my apologies for the fact that I have far less time to participate here than I should - however I value and am very grateful for the enthusiasm for Linux which so many people on this list have. Also for the fact that people are providing support for each other at a very high level in some cases. PPS: There are good reasons to suppose that the 'Bill and Tony show' which I predicted would take place tomorrow has been cancelled precisely because of the leaks to the Register and elsewhere which happened last week. If so, although it may not make a great difference to the outcome in terms of what the Government actually buys in due course, I think it is still something about which we can do just a little bit of 'Rejoice, Rejoice'. -- ------------------- Roger Whittaker SuSE Linux Ltd The Kinetic Centre Theobald Street Borehamwood Herts WD6 4PJ ------------------ 020 8387 1482 ------------------ roger@suse.co.uk ------------------